Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643)
Anne Hutchinson was born to a religious family in England in 1591.
When she was 21, she married William Hutchinson, and the two
eventually had 15 children.
While in England, Anne and William began to follow the religious
leader John Cotton, a Puritan who eventually left England to start a
Puritan colony in America. In 1634, Anne and her family, like
thousands of others, left England to practice their religion freely.
The religious climate in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was very
strict. Colonists were expected to follow the teachings of the
Puritan Church. As the colony took hold, ministers emphasized
everyone's duty to pray, fast and live a very religious life.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Anne led the life of trusted midwife, housewife, and
mother. She was very kind, gentle, and well spoken, and her nature drew people to her.
After several years in the colony, she started a women’s group, which met in her home to
discuss church sermons. At first, the women discussed the previous Sunday’s sermons
given by Reverend Cotton, but before long, Anne began telling the women about her own
beliefs, which were very different from those of the Massachusetts ministers.
As more and more people started attending her meetings, they became extremely
controversial. Male preachers in the colony did not like Anne’s views on the church, and
worried that she would upset the religious structure of the colony. What started as a
religious point of difference grew into a great divide that threatened the political stability
of the colony. To her opponents, questioning the church meant questioning the State.
In November, Anne was put on trial for speaking out against the religious leaders in
Massachusetts Bay. The men described her meetings as “a thing not tolerable nor comely
in the sight of God, nor fitting for your [gender].” They accused her of breaking the Fifth
Commandment by not honoring her superiors (the church elders). The trial became very
heated, with arguments from both sides. At the end of the trial, Anne was found guilty and
banished from the Massachusetts Colony. She and her family moved to Rhode Island,
When her husband died in 1642, Anne took her children and moved to New York. A year
later, Native Americans attached the settlements in New York. Anne’s home was raided,
and she was slaughtered along with 13 members of her family. Her youngest daughter was
taken captive and adopted by Native Americans.